Teachers can observe, learn at new Sutter Park lab
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 2:04 PM
By CANDY BROOKS

ThisWeek Staff Writer
A new observational teaching laboratory was unveiled at Sutter Park Preschool last week.

Teachers from Worthington and other nearby school districts will be able to use the lab, learning as they watch teachers work one-on-one with students who sit in a small room behind a one-way mirror.

The lab was designed for Reading Recovery teachers, but could also be used for classroom teachers and principals who want to learn to support the Reading Recovery process. It could also be used for other programs, such as English as a Second Language, administrators said.

Reading Recovery is an intense, scientifically based program aimed at first-graders who are struggling to learn to read.

In Worthington, nine of eleven elementary schools have a Reading Recovery program. Only Worthington Estates and Granby do not participate.

Teachers qualify to teach Reading Recovery by completing nine graduate-level credit hours, during which they teach four students. Teachers continue to learn and improve their skills.

"You're always searching for what you can do to be a better teacher," said Evening Street Elementary School Reading Recovery teacher Kellie Ehlers.

Watching a teacher work with a student behind the one-way mirror is an important part of honing their skills, according to Reading Recovery teachers.

The child thinks he or she is doing a regular lesson while the teachers observe and learn.

There is nothing quite like watching a student in action, said Ehlers.

"When you are on the other side of the glass, you always think 'I have a student who does that'," said Abby Miller, who teaches Reading Recovery at Worthington Hills Elementary.

This way, she said, you can ask questions of the teacher-leader who is also observing, or talk about the challenges with other Reading Recovery teachers.

Because of its central location, the Sutter Park lab will be used by Reading Recovery teachers from nearby districts such as Dublin and Upper Arlington, said Cheri Slinger, the Reading Recovery teacher-leader for several districts, including Worthington, Upper Arlington, Dublin and South-Western.

The lab is a place where everyone will learn - teachers, children, administrators, parents, said Jennifer Wene, Worthington director of teaching and learning.

"This is what a learning organization should be about," she said.

The district invested no new dollars in the lab, said Mark Glassbrenner, elementary curriculum director. All equipment and supplies were either refurbished or donated, he said.